


Truth Retold: Never Make Darby Angry

by Pixelatrix



Series: Truth Retold One-Shots [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Revenge, Violence, a lot of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:48:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: What happens when someone messes with Darby's Admiral?
Relationships: Steven Hackett/Female Shepard, Steven Hackett/Female Shepard/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Truth Retold One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639546
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An AU-ish addition to Truth Retold.
> 
> Bioware owns all. Sadly.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Beta: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929

“Stop watching my ass.”

“Fuck off.” Darby watched Hackett walk out of the pub. He’d offered to take the skycar across the city to pick up a delivery of books for her. She glanced over her shoulder once he’d stepped outside. “Oi. Wally?”

Wallace poked his head out of their storage room. “What—”

Whatever Wallace had been about to say was drowned out by a massive explosion followed by the windows of the pub shattering. Darby leapt over the counter. She raced toward the door that had been blown open with Wallace close behind.

Taking a large step to avoid shards of broken glass, Darby stopped in the middle of the street. Her mind struggled to process the scene in front of her. Their skycar was upside down, and smoke was beginning to pour from the engine.

_Fuck_.

“Steven.” Darby jolted into action. She raced over, using her biotics to rip off the door and eyeing the narrow gap. The vehicle had been crushed slightly in the explosion. “Fuck. Steven? Fuck.”

Squeezing through the opening, Darby got inside to find Hackett slumped over to one side. She knelt beside him. Her fingers refused to stop trembling long enough to check for a pulse.

“Blondie?”

“Just…fucking hold on,” Darby screamed. She forced herself to stay calm to keep from losing control of her biotics. “See if you can widen the opening.”

Lifting Hackett gently with her biotics, Darby gently guided him out of the shuttle. Wallace waited to help get him safely on the ground away from the now smouldering wreckage. She couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t.

Her body refused to function.

Darby stood with her biotics flaring and stared down at the lifeless form. “Fuck. _Fuck._ Fuck. Make him wake up. You make him fucking wake up.”

“Blondie.” Wallace had knelt beside Hackett to attempt to assess his injuries. “Blondie. He’s breathing. And I fucking need you to do the same. Also, you need to make sure the kittens are locked up in the apartment over the pub.”

“You just want to get rid of me.”

“I want you to do something useful while I get Steven ready for the goddamn medics. They’ll be here in seconds. Hurry the fuck up,” Wallace snapped at her.

Staring down at Hackett for a second longer, Darby ran into the pub. She caught Jane, the lone cat downstairs. The kitten hadn’t moved off the bookshelf.

After ensuring all three were secure, Darby returned to find Hackett being carried into an Alliance shuttle. She couldn’t look at him. Her gaze went instead to the smoking wreckage; someone had put out the fire.

“Darby.”

She turned to find Wallace in front of her. “This wasn’t an accident.”

“Darby.” He grabbed her by the arm, trying to pull her toward the shuttle. “We should head to the hospital with him.”

“Someone blew my fucking skycar up.” Darby yanked her arm away from him. “Some fucker hurt my admiral.”

“Darby. We don’t have time for this.” Wallace tried to catch her wrist again. “We can—”

“You go to the hospital. I’ll get the pub windows covered.” Darby had something more important to do than pace a hospital hallway. “Go. Don’t make them wait.”

A shout from the medics got Wallace moving. Darby pulled up her omni-tool and sent multiple messages. Vega and Cortez promised to pick up something to temporarily secure the pub.

Her message to Liara prompted an immediate response. The Shadow Broker had a possible name and location for her by the time Vega and Cortez had shown up. Darby ignored them while she pulled her gear out of secured storage locker.

She planned to wait until Liara had confirmation.

“Going somewhere?”

Darby glanced behind her shoulder to find Joe leaning on his cane. “They blew up my fucking admiral.”

“He’s alive, Darby.”

“Not the fucking point. What would you do if someone hurt Evert?” Darby finished pulling up the last of her arm. She checked her weapons over—retrieving both her N7 Valkyrie and Valiant. “Would you hover in the hospital, waiting for news?”

“I’d hunt the bastard down and let you shoot them for me,” Joe finally admitted. “They’ve boarded up the windows to the pub. Bayer sent several of his buddies to the hospital. They sent a message saying Hackett hadn’t woken up. The docs took him into surgery. Something about—”

“Shut the fuck up before I break your other leg.” Darby gripped her rifle so tightly she worried it would snap. “I’m leaving the second Liara confirms a location for me.”

“Of course, you are.” Joe walked hesitantly toward her. He knocked his cane against her leg. “We’ll give you a ride, okay? Vega and Cortez can watch the pub. Evert’s a good shot. You shouldn’t go alone.”

“Joe.”

“You’re angry. You fuck things up when you’re angry.”

“I’m always angry.” Darby blocked his second attempt to hit her with the cane. “You have a point.”

“I know. Are you ready? We can wait for Liara just as easily on my ship.” Joe headed out of the room. “I’ll wait for your outside.”

Darby finished securing her gear. She wandered over to sit on the edge of the bed. “What the fuck am I doing?”

She had a feeling Wallace’s response had been the expected one. He’d gone to the hospital. Hers had been to find the bastard responsible and end their existence.

_Maybe Wrex is right. _

_Maybe I am a quarter Krogan._

Shaking her head, Darby let out a bitter chuckle. She stopped on her way out of the apartment. Her gaze caught the shadowbox on the wall that held Hackett and Wallace’s dog tags. The ones that hadn’t been melted down into their rings.

She snatched both of them down and looped them around her neck and tucked them underneath her shirt. “Time to go to fucking war.”

“Lola?”

Darby glanced over at Vega after closing the door behind her. She narrowed her eyes on him. “You two keep an eye on the place and the kittens.”

“Lola.” Vega started towards her but stopped when Cortez shook his head. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Just make sure you feed the kittens. I’d have for Stuart to decide to rip you apart if they get hurt.” Darby stepped outside to find Bayer and Joe waiting in their shuttle. She kept her eyes away from the wreckage of her skycar and joined them. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

By the time they arrived at the skyport, Liara had followed up with more detailed information. The name was familiar. Darby felt rage boiling inside her like a rocket wanting to explode.

_Alexander Trevors_

_The fucker._

_We should’ve killed the fucker when we had the chance._

_This is what happens when you show mercy to a rat fucking bastard._

She stayed by the CIC, willing the ship to fly faster. She didn’t want Trevors to have a chance to get away. Joe kept his crew out of her way, probably worried she might snap.

“Can you not take your weapons apart in the middle of my CIC?” Joe held his hands up when she scowled at him. “Never mind.”

They made the jump from London to a small town in the French countryside fairly quickly. Trevors had hunkered down in what seemed to be a shelter from an ancient world war. Darby didn’t care; he’d die no matter where he’d hidden himself.

“He’ll expect you.” Bayer caught up with her by the airlock. “You go with a clear head or not at all.”

“Like you could fucking stop me.” Darby didn’t have time to play with her former drill instructor. “Move.”

“I’m bringing you home safely to The Wall when you’re done. Just remember. He doesn’t need to lose both of you in the same god damn day.” Bayer didn’t sugar coat anything. He showed no sympathy when she visibly recoiled. “Just get the bastard. Use your brain. I know you have one.”

“Fuck off.”

They waited for dark, watching for any signs of Trevors. Darby knew he was there. Liara didn’t get information wrong.

Not when it meant this much.

Making her way through the fields, Darby considered her options. She thought about sniping him from afar. It seemed too generous of a death.

She wanted him to know. Needed him to know. In the end, Darby wanted Trevors to be painfully aware of who’d brought him to his knees.

She caught a glimpse of him in the doorway of the bunker before shots rang out. “Missed. Fucker.”

“What took you so long, bitch?” Trevors was armed to the teeth. “Who died? I’d hoped to get you.”

Darby kept her cool. She hated using her biotics, but this seemed like a good time to use a trick Liara had taught her. One singularity and the bastard floated in the air with his weapons on the ground beneath him. “Well, well, well. Look what I’ve got”

“You’re done bitch.”

Darby used her biotics to pull him out of the bunker. She didn’t trust him not to have set up a few traps within it. “So, fucker, what did you think would happen when you hurt someone I love?”

“You were the target.”

“Well, you missed.” She lowered him to the ground and kicked him square in the head. “Admiral Hackett was in the shuttle.”

Trevors blanched.

“Yes. Admiral Hackett.” Darby crouched beside him, still frozen by her biotics. She grabbed her service knife and flipped it around in her hand. “Do you believe in God?”

“What?”

Darby stabbed him directly in the heart. She peered down at him, watching him die. “Hope there is a hell. Just so you can fucking burn in it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might add a short third chapter. 
> 
> We'll see.

Darby ran through the hospital, skidding to a halt when she found Wallace. “Is he—”

“The fuck do you care? You left me alone to deal with all of this.” Wallace gestured wildly towards the doors down the hall leading to intensive care. He folded his arms across his chest and glowered at her. “Was revenge worth it? Did you accomplish whatever the fuck you needed to? How the fuck do you abandon us in the middle of a damn crisis?”

Darby couldn’t meet Wallace’s gaze. She yanked the beanie off her head and clutched it in her hands. “Alexander Trevors is dead. Fuck. Look, Wallace, I had to do something. Didn’t I? What if he’d attacked again?”

“Steven’s in a coma. He’s out of surgery. They don’t know if he’ll wake up.” Wallace pushed away from the wall, stalking over to her and bending slightly, so they were eye to eye. “I _fucking_ needed you, Blondie.”

She shifted uneasily under his unwavering scrutiny. “Stuart.”

“Go sit with him if you care to. I’m going to get some air.”

“Stuart.” Darby grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” Wallace seemed to have aged ten years over the course of the day. “You’re not. You’d do the same damn thing again. Go sit with _our_ admiral. Maybe try to remember you’re not the only one who loves him.”

_Fuck_

“Are we okay?”

Wallace frowned at her before dragging her into a crushing embrace. “We will be. And I hope you made the bastard hurt.”

“I did.” Darby wilted in his arms. “Is Steven going to be okay?”

“I have no idea, Blondie.” Wallace released her, pushing her towards the door. “Go on. Sit with him. You can’t miss his room. There are at least ten marines hovering around it.”

Darby walked hesitantly toward the intensive care unit. “Stuart?”

“What?” Wallace watched her retrace her steps.

“I love you. As much as I love Steven.” She hadn’t considered it as leaving him. “I trusted you to watch out for him while I made sure our fucking family was safe.”

“Go see, Steven.”

Darby didn’t like the look in his eyes. She whacked him over the head before hugging him tightly. “I fucking love you. I mean, for fuck’s safe, I loved you long before Steven even entered into my mind.”

Wallace brought a hand up to cup the back of her head, pressing her against his chest. “I can’t lose either of you. And certainly not both of you on the same fucking day. Do not do that to me again.”

After a few minutes, Wallace pushed her away. She wandered down the hall, leaving him to have some time to himself. She shoved her hands into her pockets to keep from fidgeting.

She didn’t want to see Hackett in a hospital bed.

She didn’t.

_Fuck Trevors for making me do this._

Ignoring the Alliance officers who saluted her, Darby strode through the door to the hospital room with a confidence she didn’t feel. Her breath rushed out of her in an instant. She grabbed the wall to keep from dropping to the floor.

_Fuck._

Darby sank into a nearby chair, dragging it forward until she was beside the bed. She wanted to hold his hand but settled for resting her fingers an inch from his hand. “Fuck.”

The next few days went by in a blur for Darby. She only left the hospital room when Wallace forced her to get some air. She had to do the same for him.

They ate mostly because someone always seemed to be bringing food in for them. She hadn’t seen the kittens in days. When she slept, it was curled up in a chair in the corner of Hackett’s room.

“Darby.”

She shot up in the chair with a groan. “The fuck?”

“Blondie.” Wallace grabbed her when she almost tumbled headfirst out of the chair. “He’s awake.”

Darby’s gaze shot to Wallace then over to the bed. “_Fuck_.”

Wallace kept a hand on her shoulder, easing her over to the bed where a pale Hackett watched them. “Easy. He’s not completely out of the woods yet. Doctor’s on her way to poke and prod at him.”

Darby ignored Wallace. She stretched a hand out and gently smacked Hackett on the arm. “You stupid fucking fuckity.”

Wallace shook his head, laughing. “What she means is that you terrified her. She loves you. And she’d appreciate it if you never got yourself blown up again.”

Darby grabbed Hackett’s hand and tried not to burst into tears. Crying always pissed her off. “Stupid fucking bastards. Getting yourselves blown the fuck up.”

Hackett drew her closer. His hold on her hand weaker than usual and that just pissed her off even more. “I’m going to be okay, Darby.”

“Fucker.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Darby: https://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/185072830756/fire-fly-with-me-mathilda-bernmark  
Hackett: https://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/190916420086/jeffreydeanmorganthings-like-or-reblog  
Wallace: https://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/190894852911/totiek-joe-manganiello-rampage-in-theatres-now  
Trevors: https://pixelatrix.tumblr.com/post/77178289048/japrilalltheway-flawless-greys-anatomy-people


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